Jan 13

Always be a learner!

I started my administration career back in 1991. I was 29 years old, had just completed my master’s degree and I was brash as hell. I moved from a strictly high school setting to a K-12 environment and from a middle to upper class socially economic school to a community facing significant poverty issues. Success had followed me around pretty well throughout my life, so I figured my learnedness seemed adequate to be a good educational leader. I wasn’t unsuccessful at that time, but I think had I started from a learning perspective rather than a learned perspective, I would have enjoyed even more gains. There were a couple of times in my career when I got stuck and satisfied with simply being learned. Fortunately, I was surrounded by some great people who helped me transition from a slightly arrogant learned leader to a committed learning leader.

I’m not sure when I came across this statement from Eric Hoffer, but it became one of my driving forces as a leader.

The changes in society in the 62 years of my life have been extreme. When I look back at my classroom of 1985 and the classrooms of today, those changes are magnified. Being learned as an educator or leader of even an average citizen is insufficient. Experts in any field become obsolete without a continual commitment to learning. You cannot continue to do the same thing, the same way and expect to get any better results. That ship will eventually sail.

Most of my work now as a retired superintendent and an education consultant is with school boards and divisions. My excitement comes from working with these school boards who have made the leap to becoming a learning organization. They’ve ignored the rhetoric told to them by many provincial organizations that they are so good and valuable and instead have focused on how they can improve their governance function and ultimately serve students better. The arrogance of being learned is being aptly replaced by a learner mentality. These are the boards who if not now, will eventually become high functioning, while others, who are content with simply being learned will remain replaceable and irrelevant.

My own learning has been impacted through this work too! This week I was asked to facilitate a conversation around consent agendas and also offer a couple of new workshops on governance principles and board norms. A cursory understanding of these topics is unacceptable to offer robust workshops and so I too, needed to delve into the learning arena.

Learning should be for everyone and quite honestly it is available for most. Bringing in a consultant like me is just one option. There are books to read and study guides to follow. There are programs to watch and podcasts (my new favourite) to listen to. Regardless of the mode of learning, we all must get on that journey. Teach and you will learn…learn and you will teach. It is that simple!

Jan 06

You can’t be a jerk!

The other day in an interview I was giving, I was asked to give someone just going into leadership a piece of wisdom. While effective leadership can never be boiled down to one or two traits, there are certainly some non-negotiables. Fostering effective relationships with your staff is one of those non-negotiables. A person may possess some great management skills but without relational abilities, effective leadership is fleeting at best. Simply put, you can’t be the best version of leadership by being a jerk.

The unfortunate part in today’s society is that we have so many “leaders” especially in the political arenas that contradict that sentiment. While they may be “deemed leaders” the more important question is “Are they effective?” I would hesitate to agree that because they’ve simply been elected, they are effective. Instead, I might suggest that our overall leadership pool in politics is especially shallow and sometimes there just isn’t any desirable choice.

The bottom line is that great leaders are great people. They foster strong relationships with their people by acting with fairness, kindness, and empathy. Integrity is always used as a descriptor of the great leader. Wow…wouldn’t that be something if our politicians exercised integrity? Their transparency, honesty and vulnerability build trust from the inside out. And trust is essential!

Today’s organizations especially in the field of education must be adaptive. Changing societies, diverse populations and global connections are forcing educational staff to do things differently in order to address the needs to the 21st century learner. With the status quo being unacceptable going forward, leaders are being asked to transform systems, schools and classrooms. Demanding change may bring compliance, but it is commitment that great leaders desire. Transformative change can only come about when strong trusting relationships are in place, and it always starts with the leader.

When you look at the visual above (courtesy of Franklin Covey), the behaviours of high trust leaders are established through a concentrated effort of building effective relationships. No where is being a jerk a trust building behaviour!

In Patrick Lencioni’s book, “The Five Dysfunctions of Team” the absence of trust is the base level dysfunction. Without trust you cannot go any further as a team. Often those who are not relational have this belief that fostering effective relationships is contrary to making tough decisions or having difficult conversations. I refer back to Lencioni’s work in that the second dysfunction is a fear of conflict. When trust is established and relationships are strong, conflict can naturally occur. Conflict isn’t about personal attacks (that’s what a jerk does), but about debating ideas, brainstorming solutions and challenging perspectives. But conflict, is always done in a respectful manner.

Leaders, in all avenues of society, need to fully understand the importance of building those strong relationships in their organizations. Being a jerk may get you elected but it certainly won’t create a leadership legacy!

Jan 01

Some hopes for 2024!

It is interesting that once you get out of a habit, it is hard to get back into it. Such is with my writing! When I was a superintendent, Sunday was an essential workday for me and that was when I typically wrote my blog posts. Now retired, or semi retired as some would say, I have all the time in the world to write (between grandkids, golf in the summer, hockey in the winter and the odd contract) and yet I find it difficult to commit the time to sit down and draft some words. I know that many superintendents blog now, but I highlight two that I most enjoy, Chris Kennedy https://cultureofyes.ca/ and Dave Eberwein https://thepowerofwhy.ca/ I have known both Chris and Dave for years now through ERDI and admire their leadership and writing. While both write through an educational lens, they both bring their personal experiences to their blogs. So, my first hope is to get back on a schedule and write again…regularly and as you can probably tell, work on my website so my blog is a little easier to navigate and read. Honestly, I am not as young as the picture on the site, but I cannot seem to change it!!!

My next hope is around the teaching profession. While I know that we are in the midst of a healthcare crisis, I do not think that most understand the perils occurring in our educational system throughout Canada. It would be easy to simply blame governments, but that would be only a part of the problem. Their mandate is only for four years or until the next election and systemic change requires laser focus and consistent support for longer periods of time. The continual shift from left to right in the political world does nothing to assist the system. And even when there is some consistency in power, the ideals of the party are generally so out of touch with the needs of the classroom because their goal is less about improvement of the system and more about getting re-elected. My next hope, therefore, is that governments start to define education as an investment in the future and not simply an expense line in the budget.

While teaching has never received its due respect, the lack of respect by the general population and especially parents is becoming unbearable for many young and veteran teachers. The old saying, “Those who can do and those who can’t teach” is so out of touch with reality. Regardless of class size (and it continues to increase), teachers today are facing the most diverse populations ever with little to no support from the home. Do not get me wrong there are some great and supportive parents out there but there are also those who feel so entitled and look down at the teaching profession, believing their child is never wrong and others who just do not have the skills to adequately parent. You do not need to have too many of those types of parents to make the job extra frustrating. It is hard enough to deal with 20-40 different personalities in the classroom let alone the parents who may hindering from home. So, my hope here is that society in general does a hard pivot and begins to respect not only teachers but the education system as well.

A commitment to developing leadership is my next hope for 2024. We need fearless leadership in our schools, our systems and around our board tables. In the past couple of years, I have worked with close to 20% of the boards in Alberta and NWT and I always ask, “How are you promoting innovation?” While it may be a too often used phrase, “We need to prepare students for their future and not our past” it is so relevant. Leaders cannot be content maintaining the status quo as that in essence is falling behind. Our students deserve better! I have the pleasure of working with current or aspiring leaders from five Catholic school divisions around the Edmonton area and I remind them that continuous improvement and ultimately school and/or systemic change requires bold (and subtle) leadership. It cannot be left to chance and so leadership development/mentoring must always be a high priority in school systems and the corporate sector.

I’m going to stop there for today as it is only January 1st, and I don’t want to run out of material. Best wishes to all in this new year of 2024.

Jul 30

And/Both not Either/Or

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve written a couple of blog posts that to many may sound contradictory: Kindness in Leadership and Fearless Leadership. The fact is great leaders should be both kind and fearless. They are not opposites and realistically compliment each other well. Empathy is a trait of the kind and fearless leader. So are the traits of compassion, courage, adaptability, collaboration and vision.

My point for writing this blog is to show that we too often in this world want to make decisions based on an either/or model. If I’m right, you are wrong, if you say down, I say up. There is a belief that there is only one winner and while that may be true in sports or other competitions, relationships and how we live generally should never be boiled down to a simple right or wrong scenario. Strong convictions should not mean that a person can’t be tolerant. We can be strong and vulnerable at the same time.

The issue my own country is facing and I would suggest even more evident south of the border is people refuse to welcome an and/both mentality. Both right and left wingers push their agenda to the farthest points of their spectrums. They have ceased to or even desire to find any middle ground. It is simply either/or, take it or leave it.

While we can blame this partly on radical politicians, most of us are part of the problem too! We can’t vote for this person (even though she is the best candidate) because she belongs to that party. We need to reestablish more centralistic thinking and governance. The divisive environment we have allowed to be created will further erode our ability to think critically and solve real future problems. Without the ability to see both sides of any issue, we forget that there may be another better solution beyond our own mindset.

Why is good leadership so damn hard…because it is counter cultural. It is looking for compromise, for best solutions and all of the alternatives. It is not defined by any particular party mentality but rather what is best for the whole organization/population.

Leaders, kind and fearless embody the both/and approach. It is truly the only way forward!

Jul 23

Fearless Leadership

Canada has one of the best education systems in the world. This is especially true when you consider that the majority of students are educated in public schools, the vast diversity within our classrooms and the highly inclusive environment we continually cultivate. Most countries marvel at the results we consistently get year in and year out. We have and continue to be good! But is good really good enough to support an education system where innovation is prioritized, and students are being fully prepared for and ever changing and literally unknown future? Sadly, and not to be disrespectful to all of the hard working and dedicated educators and leaders out there, I do not think so.

We are at a standstill. We have good schools but not great! We have good systems but not great! Unfortunately (and maybe not through our own doing) we have fallen into complacency and decided to tinker rather than blow up. We play it safe instead of being bold and while it is good for some students, our present systems are not great for all. Incidentally, that is what we are called to do, be great for ALL students.

So, who starts this fearless leadership required to jumpstart the innovation really required for today’s students? It would be nice if it began with our governments but, that is rarely their mandate. True innovation always comes with an implementation dip and with most election cycles being a mere four years, the opportunity to go against the grain of the norm (which is what innovation requires) is likely unrealistic. Plus, governments in power speak and do what is most beneficial for their own supporters and regardless of what side of the coin the political party, rocking the boat is not a wise political move. While historically some politicians have been fearless, a ruling party’s most important goal after an election is to get re-elected. My statement is not to be insulting but rather to demonstrate perspective on how governments are usually not the ones to take on the role of fearless leadership.

School boards have some similar challenges since they too, are on a four-year cycle and their funding comes almost exclusively from government. However, even with those constraints I believe that school boards can lean more toward fearless leadership through one of their four modes of governance, namely innovative. Through their governance lens, which is where high functioning boards reside, creating an innovative environment is part of fearless leadership. Painting a preferred future and then allocating the appropriate resources in order to ensure that students are best prepared for this changing world is fearless. It is easy for boards to state that they want strong literacy and numeracy results but that is only minimal at best. Students who demonstrate strong literacy and numeracy results are at the ground floor. Our society requires so much more from our education system to deal with current and future world problems. Boards have an obligation to create an innovative environment where we go far beyond the reading, writing and arithmetic!

While the environment to promote innovation must be established by school boards, it is the senior and school leaders who must actualize fearless leadership.

Fearless leadership is about the courage to take risks, to challenge the status quo and to make decisions that may not be popular but are right! It is about taking a leap of faith. It is about bursting out of a cocoon to really see what the possibilities are out there. So many of the structures we have in schools/systems today are the same as we had since formal education was introduced. Why?

The pandemic shook us out of many of our past practices due to necessity but what if we decided to not return to the comforts of how we have always done it? We need leaders who are confident in their own abilities and possess a forward-thinking vision. Fearless leaders must be resilient because the general public is going to call them out over and over again because change is difficult. Change takes us out of our comfort zone, and this is one of the reasons it is so difficult to enact.

And money, cannot be the reason leaders do not make that jump. There will never be enough money says the fearful leader. But fearless leaders look at the resources available and make decisions necessary to innovate rather than promote and protect the safe! I am not suggesting that government funding is sufficient but maybe we need to allocate our resources differently to innovate!

Leadership success is not attainable for everyone because it is really difficult to achieve. The attributes required by today’s leaders are not in the box of traits most people have in their own toolkit. But now, more than ever before and especially in education, we need authentic and fearless leaders. We need leaders who cross the chasm in a giant leap, confident that the other side will provide greater opportunities for students and lead to achieve an improved global state of affairs. We need thinkers and problem solvers and collaborators and creative geniuses and compassionate souls and all of those competencies that go far beyond literacy and numeracy. And we cannot get there without fearless leaders in our systems and in our schools.  

Jul 17

Kindness in leadership

Earlier this year, I attended the Central Alberta Teachers’ Convention on behalf of Nelson. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my former teachers, Laurie McIntosh (@lauriesmcintosh) stopped by the booth to say hello. I was then humbled when I dropped by her sessions, and she kindly recognized and affirmed me in for my actions as her former superintendent. She reminds me often of the impact of three words I spoke to her many years ago, “Just be mom!”

Few reading this blog would not know instantly who Laurie is but for those who don’t…she is one of the best kindergarten teachers I’ve ever known, she is the co-author of “Teachers These Days,” and she is the queen of kindness both within her classroom, school and community.

While grateful for her words and more specifically about the content of her presentation, it struck me that we often don’t connect kindness as an invaluable leadership quality. It is too often misinterpreted as simply being “soft” and more of a hinderance than an asset in leadership. How far from the truth!

In Alberta (and likely many other areas in the world), the first competency in the teaching, leadership and superintendent leadership quality standards is building or fostering effective relationships. And while it may not necessarily state “kindness” in the indicators, I would suggest that strong and trusting relationships can never be fully developed without some sort of kindness quotient.  

Kindness is a powerful and effective leadership skill, that involves showing compassion, empathy, and understanding towards others. It allows for the creation of positive and inclusive work environments. Even in the best collaborative teams, there is always some sort of hierarchy and with kindness, strong relationships are developed between leaders and their team members.

Genuine care and consideration help to create an environment where individuals feel valued, respected, and motivated. Heightened trust is established which promotes more open communication ultimately giving a stronger sense of voice to team members. The role modelling of kindness in leadership fosters a commitment to intellectual conflict which is essential in strong collaborative teams.

Kindness in leadership doesn’t mean not making people accountable or not making tough decisions. In fact, leaders who understand that decisions made around discipline or termination are done through the highest acts of kindness. It should never be easy to discipline or terminate an employee and kind leaders understand that better than most.

Kindness is key as a leadership skill because of all the potential benefits. Fostering strong relationships, building trust and developing open and honest forums for conversation and ideas are just a few. The impact of a leader’s kindness builds and sustains a positive work culture which benefits all organizations.

Feb 01

Accountability and leadership

I came across the image below on Twitter and it resonated with me from a leadership perspective. Leaders need to be accountable but too often it is about to who rather than simply being accountable through all of one’s actions. There is a doing part of accountability but in true accountable leadership it is far more about being.

Here’s my take on each of the nine traits:

  1. Transparency
    • I am who I am! Leaders who put up a façade are generally trying to hide faults. While great leaders may do exceptional things, they are still human. The transparent leader is clear in her communications but also vulnerable in her being. Leaders may have to develop a tough skin, but they cannot lose their compassionate heart and transparency ensures the mirror is accurate when it comes to the reflection.
  2. Improvement
    • Great leaders are always on a continuous improvement journey. They act like professionals, knowing that getting better is just simply what is required. Maintaining the status quo is falling behind and no leader has ever been hired to maintain the status quo. Improvement comes not in self isolation but rather in seeking honest feedback from others and then in a willingness to go beyond your own comfort zone.
  3. Relatedness
    • This is closely linked to transparency. I may work in the corporate office and be the “boss” but am I relatable as a person? Can I connect with my employees? Do we share common values, interests, experiences, etc? If employees can’t relate to the leader or visa versa, then the leader is simply a figurehead and little connection will ever be made.
  4. Ownership
    • Praise in public, discipline in private. Shield your employees and be the firewall when things don’t go well. That doesn’t mean accept incompetent behaviour or action but protect when you need to protect. Stand tall and own it! You expect loyalty from your employees, they deserve your loyalty as well.
  5. Resilience
    • Bad things do happen to good people, but great leaders respond and adapt. It requires a tremendous amount of self-care to be able to look at other possibilities and not get stuck in defeat. Resilient leaders bounce back because they are confident not only in themselves but in those who surround them. They don’t get lost in the small details (but they do know them) but always see the bigger picture.
  6. Experimentation
    • Until failure becomes a permanent condition, it is just a part of the learning journey. Greatness never comes from doing the same thing over and over. Tweaks and pivots are always required to moving forward to the preferred future. Experimentation is not “Ready! Aim! Fire!” but rather “Ready! Fire! Aim!” Course corrections, building the plane in the air are examples of experimentation.
  7. Integrity
    • It may be number seven here, but it is number one in leadership. Simply put, no integrity, no leadership! Enough said!
  8. Commitment
    • Linked to resilience. You can’t succeed with “half-assed” commitment, and it is hard work! Commitment starts with the heart, moves to the head and then to the hands. It means being clear on your priorities and then executing on them…and them means 2-3 at the most. You can’t be committed to multiple priorities. Commit to only a few!
  9. Courage
    • Leaders make tough decisions and have hard conversations all the time. The best, do this through strong relations and high levels of trust. It is not an absence of fear but a willingness to do difficult tasks within fear. Courage allows us to go beyond, to forge a path when there is none and to lead in a world that is neither black or white. Courageous leaders live in the grey without losing sight of the vision and mission of the organization.

If leadership was so easy, we’d have many more leaders in the world. Great leaders don’t just have 3 or 4 of the above accountability traits, they have all of them. It is just not that easy to be an accountable leader but focusing on these nine traits will move you closer to where you need to be in your organization.

Jan 08

What zone are you in?

Below is a great visual provided by Dr. Amy Edmondson that links psychological safety to performance standards. In the visual, she identifies four zones that people within organizations reside based on the relationship between psychological safety and performance.

Great leaders understand the importance of psychological safety in the workplace. There is no doubt that it is essential, especially given the last number of years living through the pandemic. But for the purpose of this blog post, I want to assume a high level of psychological safety is already present and identify the four zones as: Apathy, Uncomfortable, Comfortable, and Innovative.

Let’s begin with the comfort zone, a place where most of us to want to live. Why not, as it suggests it is comfortable and usually, “good” resides there. This zone might be also categorized as the norm. With the disruption in education due to COVID these past couple of years, there has been a strong desire to return to the norm. But…

My concern with the comfort zone is not in getting there after significant turmoil but staying there for too long. The pandemic, with all of it’s negatives, moved us along the innovation continuum in record time. We were forced to see how we might be able to teach differently, to meet differently and to provide professional learning differently. Prior to the pandemic, every school division had pockets of innovation but for the vast majority, the comfort zone existed. That shouldn’t be taken as an insult but rather a matter of fact. We crave the known, the expected and when it produces good results, there is little impotence to change.

Unfortunately staying in the comfort zone too long can lead one into the apathy zone pretty quickly and most often unknowingly. It is not that far of slide from comfort to apathy. It is a cycle that can become prevalent without some sort of jolt.

I think it would be unfair to suggest that educators should not find some aspect of normality in their practice. With so many changes, that were out of their own control, the need to find some level ground is expected. Anxiousness is understandable. However, anxiety is certainly not a place where people want to live for an extended period of time.

Anxiety, especially when it is diagnosed, should not be confused with being uncomfortable. Learning is uncomfortable as it takes us on a journey of incompetence to competence. That is the “jolt” required to move us from the comfort zone to the innovative zone. The cycle always begins in the comfort zone where we feel most confident. We then decide to try something different which leads to being uncomfortable. The practice put in, the resources required, the time and energy allows us to get our feet under us and then move to an innovative zone. That is learning and once we incorporate that new practice into our everyday work, we find ourselves back in the comfort zone. It is not innovative anymore, it is simply what we do!

The cycle is not constant and it is certainly messy. We need time to celebrate when we achieve some new learning. We need time to take our breath. And sometimes, we need the ability to revert back to our comfort zone because what we were trying was not pedagogically strong or didn’t meet our needs. However, WE CAN’T STAY IN THE COMFORT ZONE for long periods of time because improvement does not exist there.

When psychological safety is high the status quo is no longer be acceptable. Continuous improvement occurs from the pursuit of the cycle of comfortable to uncomfortable to innovative and then back to the comfort zone.

Jan 03

Looking back to 2020

This week marks the third-year anniversary of my retirement as Superintendent of Schools. In some ways it seems like only yesterday that I called it quits, while at other times it seems like a lifetime ago. So, what have I done or better yet, what are some things I’ve learned in these past three years?

The doing is pretty easy to explain. Within eight months of retirement, my wife and I moved to be closer to and more involved in the lives of our grandchildren. What a blessing it has been to watch them grow and provide support to their parents in some unusually challenging times. To the surprise of my family, I stayed completely retired for 16 months. It wasn’t until April 2021 that the good folks at Nelson Canada came knocking to see if I would be interested in first, a one day a week and now a two day a week contract as an Education Advisor. My desire to work with Nelson came first because of their willingness to be flexible with my time and secondly, to keep me connected to the educational community. I’m extremely supportive of the Nelson products, be it their school resources, Edwin or professional learning and have great confidence introducing school divisions to their team of experts! I’ve also been able to provide some contract support to the likes of Apple Canada and EF Educational Tours. My previous experience with the group Education Research Development & Innovation (ERDI) allowed me to form some great relationships (and friendships) with many corporate partners.

Like most retired superintendents, I formed my own consulting company, CDSmeaton Consulting in late 2021 and began to provide leadership coaching, school improvement support and to the surprise of many, school board orientations, governance workshops and evaluations. Providing support to superintendents as they go through their evaluations and working with boards who have a sincere desire to do better has been a very positive experience. I’m also working closely with the Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council Education Authority in northern Alberta which is most rewarding. Finally, I’ve been contracted by five boards around the Edmonton area to lead their 2-year “Excellence in Catholic Education Leadership” course through Newman Theological College.

While it may seem like I’m very busy, my workload is far less than that of my days as superintendent. In the winter, I play hockey 2-3 times per week and I golf 60 plus rounds in the summer. Not complaining at all!

So, what have been some learnings during these past three years?

  • COVID has been one of the most divisive issues in communities and in education. Everyone had an opinion and never before have people been so inclined to share it and in many times rudely!
  • No matter what decision governments or local authorities made around COVID, it was wrong to someone!
  • The ability to speak out has not faded away and in fact, people feel more empowered to speak their mind especially within social media circles.
  • Never before has leadership been more essential. Unfortunately, few leaders ever took a course in leading through a pandemic and so much of what needed to be done was ever evolving.
  • The ongoing waves of the pandemic and the massive diversity of opinions only made a leaders’ role even more complex. Most people craved the “old normal” but it has not returned nor will it ever return leaving many people feeling uneasy and uncertain.
  • Teaching was a very difficult profession prior to the pandemic. However, the additional stresses placed on the entire educational system has made it even more difficult.
  • The need to adequately support the mental health of employees is a priority. Only organizations that prioritize this goal will continue to prosper. Those that do nothing will eventually die a slow death!
  • Even when the comfort zone is not what is required, people still want to spend their time there.
  • Relationships within organizations take more time now to develop than ever before and are far more important. No matter where you are in an organization, it is everyone’s job to build healthy and trusting relationships.
  • Most school board members are well intentioned and want to make a difference. However, many without significant and ongoing training, have a difficult time knowing how to make that difference within their governance role. NOTE: I’ve been very fortunate to be working with boards who have a strong desire to be on a continuous learning journey.
  • The need to innovate in schools and likely most organizations is being severely hampered by fatigued and frustrated employees. Yet, innovation may be the only solution to many of the issues of fatigue and frustration!
  • Tough decisions are always necessary but they should be well communicated. There needs to be a clear “why” for any decision and in the end, it must be done with integrity and honestly.
  • Pointing your finger at another’s errors leaves you three pointing back at you. People need to clean up their own house first before they judge others!
  • COVID has really demonstrated how broken our society is and the lack of commitment to support others. We’ve become very much a “me” population!
  • The following quote from Eric Hoffer has never been more accurate, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” We need learners more than anything else!

My 11-year tenure as superintendent was extremely rewarding. I had a board that trusted my work and mostly stayed out of operations. Both of these attributes contributed to the growth of a robust system and positive board/superintendent relations. I was also fortunate to be surrounded by some key central office leaders who really exemplified the mission and vision of the school division. Leading should never be an “alone” job and having the right people in place is essential. Finally, and this didn’t happen overnight, I had strong leaders in our schools. My considerable investment of time with our school leaders helped to develop relationships built on honesty, integrity and trust. We did not always agree (and nor should we have) but we always were able to focus on the bigger picture and look beyond the here and now.

To be honest, even with such strong relationships throughout the division, I can’t imagine the difficulty of leading through a pandemic. I certainly have great appreciation for those who did it, especially if they were new to the position. Not an easy task!

My timing for retirement was almost perfect and my ability to still do some contract work with school boards and leaders is more than gratifying. I can’t say that I don’t get frustrated with narrowminded individuals or with government decisions that make little to no sense but I’m in a really good place. Retirement (or semi-retirement) has been great and I hope to be able to continue to contribute where I can in the future.

Jan 01

What if…

It has been quite some time since I last posted, but I’ve made it a priority to write more often and share my thoughts. To begin this new year I want to start with a simple “What if…” post! We’ve come through a couple of difficult years and to say that our communities are divided would be an understatement. This post is meant to cause those reading to reflect on what may be, if we just did some things differently in the new year. So here goes!

What if all politicians moved more to the middle creating less of a divide in our population?

What if politicians spoke more about what they were going to do or are doing when in power instead of badmouthing the opposition?

What if politicians regardless of the party, decided to work together?

What if our media really provided an unbiased view of the news?

What if parents really took on the responsibility of raising their own children and not blaming everyone else when things don’t go right?

What if we truly supported parents in the raising of their children rather than simply “hoping for the best?”

What if we lifted up are most marginalized populations rather than putting them down?

What if we demonstrated to our children the love of the game rather than promoting a winning at all costs attitude?

What if politicians and leaders in our nation acted responsibly and demonstrated proper decorum rather than acting like two year olds having temper tantrums?

What if people shared their opinions respectfully and listened to others’ in the same way?

What if we really decided to act on and not just speak about truth and reconciliation?

What if educators really received the public trust and respect that they deserved?

What if governments and unions actually came to the table with a desire to work together and build a strong relationship?

What if we really did something to ensure a strong middle class?

What if we found a way that our religious differences could bring us closer together instead of farther apart?

What if we used our own gifts for the betterment of others instead of just for ourselves?

What if we stopped racism and all aspects of discrimination?

What if we played a little more and worked a little less?

What if we spent more quality time with our loved ones?

What if we gave more and took less?

What if we were simply more kind, more caring and more compassionate?

Simply complaining about the state of affairs in our world will get us nowhere. If we want a better world then we need to begin to look at how we can do things differently in this new year. Every change begins with one simple act. What if…you did that?